Nick Wakeham casts an eye over some of the latest Books with a theatrical theme.
A CHORUS LINE FAQ (All That’s Left To Know About Broadway’s Singular Sensation) – Tom Rowan (Applause Books – ISBN: 978-1-4803-6754-8)
Right, go on – ask me any question about one of the world’s most iconic musicals and I can now answer it! Go on! Oh, okay, not that one!! (But we’ll get to that later).
Yes, from the blurb on the back of the jacket, this is ‘The ultimate treasure trove of information… The definitive guide for all fans of the biggest Broadway hit of its generation.’ There’s that dreaded word again: ‘definitive’.
Let’s start of on a really positive note: I loved this book. I love any book that gives you lots of background information on the making of a musical. Warts and all. And this certainly has those in abundance. I started reading it and just couldn’t put it down, although the author suggests it is a dip-in book where you can just pick it up and read a section that suits. That is also a great bonus in the way it has been presented, you don’t have to plough through the whole thing to find something, it is laid out in a very specific way and anything is easy to find when you are looking for it.
It covers everything from the original concept by Michon Peacock and Tony Stevens through to the latest revival on Broadway and in London. It also includes the film version and, in my opinion, is quite gentle on its critique of that debacle. There are paragraphs on touring versions, summer stock productions, chapters on recordings, previous books and is, indeed, rich in detail on all counts.
HOWEVER, and here is where we come to that sticky word ‘definitive’, there is absolutely no mention at all of the production I was actually involved in during 1997, directed by Baayork Lee and starring Adam Faith as Zach. Not a word! It was a number one tour produced in association with Theatre Royal Plymouth and ATG and played 19 dates throughout the UK. Google it and it shows up on YouTube. So, why has that been ignored when things like a summer stock company in Maine are included? Maybe something for the author to look into for the second pressing.
Taking that aside – this is one book that is going to stay on my library shelf for reference whenever needed and one that every musical theatre fan, and especially all those millions of ACL fans out there, will be desperate to add to their collection.
PURE IMAGINATION – Leslie Bricusse (Faber Music Publishing Services – ISBN: 978-0-571-53930-7)
Sometimes it is a pure joy to receive a book you weren’t expecting and to start reading it and not being able to put it down – just one more page before I go to sleep. Well, this is the one.
Yes, I knew a bit about Leslie Bricusse. His songwriting, his association with Anthony Newley, but not a lot more than that. Now I feel as if I have grown up with the man. His style of writing is so easy to read and is filled with warmth and intelligent humour. The part of a book I regularly find the most boring is the ‘childhood days’ section. I usually can’t get into the story until the personality is of an age where it starts to get interesting. Not so here, from the very first page I was hooked. And I did literally stay awake one night three hours longer than intended just to finish off a chapter, I was that enthralled by it all.
Bricusse apologises for name-dropping but says it is necessary for the story. Don’t apologise Leslie, these people are all part of the rich fabric that has been woven to take you from one achievement to another. What comes across is a man you wish could have been a good friend of yours. You want to know so much more and then you turn the page and it all comes flooding towards you, but in the lightest and most entertaining of ways. You will also be surprised at some of the songs he did write – more than a few of them had me exclaiming: “No! HE wrote THAT!”
His life, he says, has been determined by the Department of Fate. Well, all I can add is that the Department of Fate has a further instalment – this book MUST become a best seller. Using the title of a song he wrote for the musical Scrooge: ‘Thank You Very Much’, Mr Bricusse – this has been a fantastic read.
KEY CHANGES – A Musical Memoir – Denis King (Ledgewood Press – ISBN: 9781508578017)
Before you read this review I have to point out a couple of things: Denis King is not a close friend of mine and he has not paid me any money to write this!
Why do I feel I have to put in that waiver? Because this is easiest the best autobiography of its type that I have read this year. In fact, I read it on what is now a very boring six-hour journey that I do once a month on the coach.
However, with this book in hand, the time just flew by – 293 pages long and from the very first page to the last I was hooked. King spares no one in the telling of his journey through life, but not in a malicious way, it is all done with humour, if sometimes a bit more caustic than others. His days as a King Brother, with hits such as ‘Standing On the Corner’, are hilarious. Tales about stage machinery ruining the act, dodgy choreographers, landladies, etc had me laughing out loud – honestly, just ask the packed coach to Glasgow last Friday!
But it is mostly as a composer that King is remembered today. TV theme songs for programmes including Black Beauty, We’ll Meet Again, Dick Turpin and Lovejoy. Musicals such as Privates on Parade and A Saint She Ain’t. The whole glorious journey is one I wish I had been part of and, I have to admit, I was really upset when the book came to an end – in fact, I started to flick through it again, finding parts that had particularly hit my funny bone. I just didn’t want to put the book down!
This is a MUST for anyone who either lived through variety theatre days or wants to know what it was like to be part of Britain’s first boy band! I am sure there are a myriad of other tales King could tell and I look forward to reading them one day.
Paperback and a great stocking filler for Christmas!
MUSICALS – THE DEFINITIVE ILLUSTRATED STORY (DK Books – ISBN: 9780241214565)
I am always excited when a new book comes out covering musical theatre, so when this copy of the latest offering arrived on my doorstep I was very interested to get stuck into it straight away. As it turns out, this is a bit of a curate’s egg.
As always, I’ll start with the positive. It looks opulent. As expected of DK Books, the layout is very easy to read. It contains some background on the musical, the writers, an original cast list and some potted biographies. With certain shows it has a rundown of the book along with details of where all the songs fit in. It’s printed on high quality paper and is 355 pages in length. Enough to keep you busy for quite a while.
However, my disappointments include the following:
Any book that has the word ‘definitive’ in its title is leaving itself wide open to criticism right from the start. The Oxford English dictionary defines the word thus:
‘(Of a book or other text) the most authortative of its kind)’
Unfortunately this definition does not cover this book! Where are musicals such as Bloomer Girl, Little Mary Sunshine, Very Good Eddie, Lady Be Good? Especially when such ‘musicals’ as Yentl are included! No, to be ‘definitive’ this book would require at least the same number of pages again or a couple more volumes.
Nevertheless, my biggest problem with this book are the photographs. Not the quality (most of them are superb quality) but the fact that the greater majority of the photos are all from the film versions of the musicals. Even big important musicals such as Rent, Cabaret, Kiss Me, Kate, The Producers, Hairspray (I could go on and on) all have photos from the film versions. Why? Okay, have some from the film and others from the original stage productions, but no! Only photos appear from the film versions. I suppose the hint at this comes when you open the book and the Contents page proudly displays the following words:
4
A Musical Revival
2000 – Present
From The Producers to Into the Woods
Hold on! Into the Woods is from 1986, isn’t it? Ah, they must mean the FILM version!!!
So, what are my overall thoughts? Well, there are certainly other books out there that will give you more information and better ideas of what the original production consisted of, via original production photographs. But, if I were starting out on my musical theatre quest and wanted a book that I could use as a quick reference then this certainly would do the trick. There is no denying the sumptuousness of the book or the fact that it is a heavy tome – especially for the price. I just wish there had been a bit more thought gone into the photographic material and that it wasn’t so heavily biased towards the cinema. Oh, and that the word ‘definitive’ had not been used in the title!
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